怔 (zhèng) is a Chinese character meaning “to be dazed”. It is written from 忄 (heart (left-side form)) and 正 (upright; straight; correct), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “stunned — a heart frozen upright, staring”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
忄 + 正
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：忄 3 画 + 正 5 画 = 8 画；右侧 正 zhèng 与本字读音一致，作声符）
Memory aid
The heart radical 忄 on the left tells you this is a feeling; 正 on the right is only here for the sound — it is read zhèng, exactly like this character. Picture a heart pulled bolt upright and frozen there: you are stunned, staring, unable to move.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 发怔fā zhèngto stare blankly; to be lost in a daze怔 = zhèng
- 怔住zhèng zhùto be stunned; to freeze in surprise怔 = zhèng
Go deeper
All readings
dazed; stunned
to be dazed; to stare blankly; to be stunned into stillness (used in words such as 发怔, 怔住)
发愣；发呆。因意外或出神而一时呆住，如「发怔」「怔住」。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 发怔fā zhèngto stare blankly; to be lost in a daze怔 = zhèng
- 怔住zhèng zhùto be stunned; to freeze in surprise怔 = zhèng
Rare readings, not taught: zhēng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 怔 mean?
怔 (zhèng) means to be dazed; to stare blankly; to be stunned into stillness (used in words such as 发怔, 怔住).
How do you pronounce 怔?
It is pronounced zhèng.
What parts is 怔 made of?
忄 (heart (left-side form)) and 正 (upright; straight; correct), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：忄 3 画 + 正 5 画 = 8 画；右侧 正 zhèng 与本字读音一致，作声符）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 怔 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 怔?
心. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 怔?
Common ones are 发怔 and 怔住. The reading of 怔 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.